


tired, sore

by Carmailo



Series: Voltron One Shots [21]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, IM, This is me projecting, i almost cried writing this :(, im sad, post s8 so spoilers, s a d
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 09:08:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17077424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carmailo/pseuds/Carmailo
Summary: The aftermath of a princess's goodbye.





	tired, sore

**Author's Note:**

> Season 8 spoilers!!!!  
> i also wrote this in less than an hour so its not that great but i have no other way to continue it because im sad so you get this
> 
> title from heteroverheels by dan and drum

The march back into the Atlas is a shameful one.

Or, at least, it is for Keith.

His eyes are downcast, flicking up every few seconds to ensure he doesn’t slam into a wall and to make sure his teammates aren’t falling apart at the seams. Hunk’s still teary, Pidge wiping at her nose and lips wobbling. Shiro’s strong; he’s always been strong, and Lance just seems… empty. As for Keith, he’s proud of Allura. Ashamed of himself.

Romelle comes rushing up to the group, grinning at her success with the rift. She looks at their faces, at the tears and frowns, and asks in a small voice, “wait, where’s Allura?”

It’s quiet enough that all Keith can hear is the buzzing of the ship, the sounds of crew members a few corridors down. Romelle stares between them, piecing it together. Behind her, Coran comes to a stop, connecting the dots before Romelle and turning half-away, holding his chin high and his sadness at bay.

Romelle stares right at Keith, bores holes into his eyes, and then turns to Lance. Finally sees the marks on his cheeks.

She’s suddenly in his arms, choking over sobs as Lance embraces her tightly, hands gentle on her hair. He murmurs soothingly to Romelle, and she pulls back enough to see his face fully. Her hands are feather-light as they cup his cheeks, thumbs brushing over the angular blue crescents - the mark of her people.

“Wh-... why-... I don’t understand,” Romelle chokes out, hands moving to Lance’s shoulders, eyes to Shiro.

“She saved the universe,” Lance tells her, swallowing heavily.

Keith watches his Adam's apple bob and the clench of his jaw. How is it that Lance, who’s only just said goodbye to the girl he’s been in love with for nearly six years, is the most stable?

“But at what cost?” Romelle tears out of Lance’s hold suddenly, arms held tightly at her chest, “what did you _do?_ ”

“It was her decision-” Keith starts, but he’s cut off when Romelle takes off toward him, taking him to the ground and knocking the wind out of him.

Keith’s barely got a second to recover before Romelle starts punching. But Keith does nothing as each fist comes at his face. Lets Romelle have at it for the few moments it takes for Lance to wrestle her away.

Lies there and watches through lidded eyes as Romelle is pushed into Coran’s hands. Doesn’t move when Shiro tries to help him up. He stares at the ceiling until Hunk bodily lifts him, until he’s passed off to Lance because right now Lance is hurt the most and Shiro’s going to bite the bullet and explain to Coran and the other paladins don’t need to hear a full recounting of the fresh wound.

So Lance and Keith leave first, leaning on each other, quintessence sapped and injuries becoming increasingly apparent. The four of them can’t even make it to their rooms, crashing instead in the first lounge they come across. It’s one of the few in the Atlas, used primarily for debriefing subordinates when meeting rooms are filled. But fresh out of battle, the room is deserted as crew are given a handful of dobashes to regroup before the outcome is relayed.

The four of them collapse together, slumped against each other on the seats. Keith is between Pidge and Lance, Hunk crouched in front of him and brokenly trying to see if Keith is really alright. He doesn't stop until Keith tells him to, demands to be left alone because he’s _fine,_ dammit. Hunk, still blessedly an angel, apologizes and situates himself next to Lance.

And they’re quiet.

Their bond crackles, horribly empty and broken where Allura is supposed to be. From Pidge’s end, sadness. From Hunk’s, regret and exhaustion. From Lance’s, frustration and sorrow. And Keith isn’t too sure what he’s feeling, but sees his comrades wince when he reaches out.

“We did it,” he croaks, an attempt to find the light in an otherwise dark situation, “we won.”

“Fucking five years, millions of casualties, and a dead princess later.” Lance spits, too tired to move.

He’s crying, then, jaw tight but silent.

It just sets Pidge off, who buries her face into Keith’s side and shakes against him. Keith holds her to his side. Reaches over and brings Lance’s head onto his shoulder. Reaches out for Hunk’s hand.

He hangs on to his friends, being a comfort to them as they are lifelines for him.

Allura.

She’s _gone._

Keith tries to cry. Tries to shed a tear for his fallen friend, tries to show her her sacrifice meant something and that he does ache for her to be here with them because he does - so much that his heart swells and he feels like it might explode with pressure.

But Keith can’t. Because he’s proud of Allura and his team. Proud of them for fighting so long and for never giving up. Proud of her for giving her life for theirs and for saving trillions and trillions of people. For redeeming Honerva.

And he’s ashamed of himself. So, so ashamed.

He let this happen. He made the decisions that led them to this point when he should’ve cut the head off the entire thing years ago.

And now it’s too late to change anything.

“It’s not your fault,” Lance says suddenly, hand finding Keith’s cuirass. He locks eyes, earnest, _sad._

“It no one’s fault,” he continues, “All-...” he cuts off, choking on a sob for a moment before clearing his voice and pressing on, “Allura… saved the universe. Saved us all. But not so that we could just give up on life.”

Pidge lifts her head from Keith’s side, sniffling. She’s still frowning like she’s going to cry, so Keith squeezes her shoulder once.

“You’re right,” Keith agrees, picking up that Lance has opened an avenue for an inspirational talk from the leader, “there’s time to be sad. But you can’t let that consume you.”

“Yeah,” Hunk nods, sniffling, “yeah.”

The conversation hangs unfinished between them momentarily, and the Pidge interrupts with a small, “can I have a hug?”

The four of them manage to hunch together in a group hug, bodies aching and hearts broken. They stay bunched together for a while, until Keith has lost track of time, until his arm goes numb from Lance’s head, until his eyes are falling shut and he’s asleep.

He’s a light sleeper, so Keith isn’t surprised when he stirs. He wakes to Shiro, perched across from the four of them, hands in hands. He’s shaking, one hand covering his mouth as he holds back sobs. Tears cover his cheeks, and Keith is pulled back into his heavy sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> i fuckin cried a lot over allura guys like im so close to crying thinking about her im just so sad  
> like  
> my parents were asking me if i was okay thats how much this hurt me  
> i miss her so much :( I hate that i think of the other paladins and im like "im gonna miss them but their story continues beyond the realm of canon" and then realizing that that's it for allura. she's gone.  
> im just  
> im really sad
> 
> and for the record i liked the season so. please no negativity/hate in the comments


End file.
